The protest gathering of the supporters of prominent political prisoner, Mohammad Ali Taheri was raided by the Suppressive State Security Forces (SSF) on Friday, February 12 after they staged a gathering in front of the notorious Evin prison demanding his release.
The tension rose as state security forces gathered in the area where the protesters had gathered. This heightened the already tense situation causing scuffles among the protesters and the police.
Security forces resorted to violence in arresting around 40 of the protesters. Those apprehended were first transferred to the Shahr-e Rey police station in southern Tehran. Ten of these individuals were then transferred to the Vozara detention center and others abandoned in the middle of a highway.
Women by the names of Firuze Ranjbar, Maryam Davoudi Omid, Dr. Elahi and Zahra Shafi’i are amongst those remaining behind bars.
Taheri has been on a dry hunger strike since February 7 protesting authorities’ refusal to release him from prison after serving his sentence. His conditions deteriorated yet he was returned from a hospital to Evin Prison on February 10. He is currently on a normal hunger strike. Taheri was arrested on May 4, 2011 and sentenced to 5 years in jail, 9 billion rial fine (over $250,000) and 74 lashes for “insulting the sanctities”.
(Campaign in Defense of Political & Civil Prisoners – February 13, 2016)
